"The fact that I got famous and become a sex symbol around my normal frumpy love-handled self is so gratifying," Harbour says.

David Harbour had been acting for over a decade in film and television before landing the role of Chief Jim Hopper in Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” so it’s not too surprising to hear the actor never thought he’d be as famous as he is nowadays. But Harbour became something more than just famous in Season 2: He became a full blown sex symbol.

The actor’s form-fitting police outfit, extremely lovable dance moves, and irresistible daddy-ness made him the sexiest part of “Stranger Things 2,” and the internet took notice with plenty of gifs and articles saluting television’s sexiest daddy. Harbour, who received an Emmy nomination for his performance and is currently nominated for a Golden Globe, recently told Variety that he loves his sex symbol status, mainly because he got to become one by rocking love handles and a “dad bod.”

“In this business, certainly it’s a lot crazier for women than it is for men, but there’s such a thing where there’s a lot of judgment on the way you look, and on your body,’ Harbour said. “The fact is for years I had been trapped in a certain narcissism and a desire to have a certain body and look sexy. The fact that I got famous and become a sex symbol around my normal frumpy love-handled self is so gratifying. And dare I say culturally gratifying as well.”

“What makes someone sexy in my mind is who they are. It’s not necessarily how they look. If you have a dad bod, if you wear it well, and still shake your hips pretty good, I feel like you too can be a sex symbol!” Harbour continued. “I think that’s what we should venerate as sexy. Not people who eat organic chicken all day and spend nine hours at the gym. That’s not a society that I really care about.”

Stranger Things

Courtesy Netflix

Harbour shed the weight from “Stranger Things 2” and got in tip-top shape to play the titular character in the new “Hellboy ” movie, but he’s currently getting that dad bod back for the third season of the Netflix series. Harbour told Variety he’s eating six donuts a day to get back in daddy shape.

As for the scene in which Hopper busts out a dance move while listening to Jim Croce, which quickly became one of the best gifs of 2017, Harbour had this to say: “I thought Jim Croce would have a huge resurgence. All the kids are going to be reintroduced to Jim Croce, who I fucking love. But the fucking silly little dance that I do? I thought that was going to be overlooked. But unfortunately Jim Croce has not had the tremendous resurgence that I wanted him to, but my dance GIF has become a huge thing. It’s as funny to me as it is to anyone else. Let’s all enjoy him dancing!”

Unfortunately, Harbour says we shouldn’t expect to see daddy Hopper back on Netflix until sometime in 2019. “I’m not the authority on any of this, but if you use logic, our first season came out July 15. Our second season came out October 27. Theoretically, if we keep on the same timeline, what’s our next release date? I guess it would be January or February 2019,” he said.

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